Storage and shipping receptacle



March 1957 N. R. CRONQUIST STORAGE AND SHIPPING RECEPTACLE Filed March 22, 1954 FIG.2

FIGB

i mm Vr mew w w WY./ 8%

FIG.4

ATTORNEY United States Patent "ice STORAGE AND SHIPPING RECEPTACLE N. Russell Cronquist, Yonkers, N. Y. Application March 22, 1954, Serial No. 417,610

1 Claim. (Cl. 229-34 My invention relates to an improved receptacle of cardboard or other flexible sheet material scored to be bent and set up in final shape to serve for the storage and shipment of merchandise; especially root bulbs, seeds, and the like to be deposited in the ground and produce flowers and other plants.

The chief object of my invention is to provide a receptacle such as a box or carton having a member by which its interior can be divided into separate compartments one of which will have only air therein, the remaining space serving to receive the bulbs, said compartments being in communication through openings in said member, so that the bulbs can breathe until they are removed, said member being formed with apertures that automatically open as the member assumes its proper position.

Another object is to provide a light but strong box, all parts of which are secured in their necessary positions, and having a dividing member as aforesaid which also acts in great measure to stiffen and reinforce the box in practice.

Other objects and the nature and advantages of the invention are made clear in the following description, and the characteristics of the receptacle pointed out in the appended claims. On the drawings the best embodiment known to me is illustrated; but the invention is not limited to the exact structural details set forth herein. Numerous variations in shape, size and arrangement of parts may be incorporated without departure from the general plan in which the invention resides.

On said drawings,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a receptacle according to this invention;

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section on reduced scale along 33 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a top view on a reduced scale of the dividing member as it appears when extended and ready to be bent and inserted into the receptacle.

The receptacle is made from a blank of cardboard or other sheet material cut to have the required outline and scored so that it can be bent to form a bottom 1, sides 2 and ends 3, the box being rectangular in configuration. The ends 3 have flaps or extensions 4 which are secured thereto and bent and attached to the inner faces of the sides at the adjacent extremities thereof. The flaps are of less width or height than the depth of the box. The top edges of the flaps are below the top edges of the receptacle and the lower edges of the flaps are above the bottom 1. Also the lower corners at the outer ends of the flaps 4 are cutaway or bevelled as indicated at 5.

A top member comprising sections 6, 7 and 8 is hingeconnected to the upper edge of one of the ends 3. This member is of constant width, equal to the inside width of the bottom and is somewhat longer than the box; and the sections 6 and 8 are of equal length, with the section 7 between them. Score lines 9 and 10 mark ofi the section 7, which is of such width as to be nearly equal to 2 the depth of the receptacle. The sections 6 and 8 are about equal in length to half the length of the box or receptacle; and When the top member is bent as indicated cated in Figure 1, with the section 8 adjacent the bottom 1, the section 6 parallel thereto, and the section 7 in upright or perpendicular position with respect to the bottom 1, the top member encloses an empty chamber 11. The bulbs or other merchandise is stored in the space 12 between the section or partition 7 and the opposite end 3 of the box, and the space or chamber 11 serves to enclose enough air to keep the bulbs fresh and other- The upper edges of the flaps 4 at the end to which thesection 6 is joined as above stated, are slightly below the top edges of the box. The section 6 is of a width to fit between the sides 3, and extend fully across the receptacle and the crease or score line along which the section 6 is hinged to the one end 3 is a little above the top edges of the adjacent flaps 4. Hence with the top mem her in the position shown by the drawings, parts of the opposite side edges of the section 6 can rest upon the flaps 4 below it. The lower edges of said flap 4 being separated from the bottom 1 of the box, parts of the opposite side edges of the section 8 that also extend from one side 2 to the other, can be disposed snugly under the same flaps 4. The bevelled corners 5 permit the section 8 to slip easily under said flaps.

The top member with the adjacent end 3 and portions of the sides 2 thus not only defines the air chamber 11, but also the top member stiifens and reinforces the adjacent end and sides. The outer face of the section 6 can be covered with advertising matter and when the space 12 in the box outside the air chamber is filled, the entire box is wrapped in sheet cellophane or other material, forming a compact and durable covering for the contents and capable of being shipped and handled without risk of damage.

The apertures 13 and 14 are provided by cutting rounded taps 15 and 16 at separated points on the lines 9 and 10 respectively. These score lines are not continuous but are broken, and do not run across the tabs at their junctions with sections 6 and 8 but pass only between them. The tabs are so located that the tabs 15 and 16 project towards each other and all lie in the section 7. Each of the tabs along one score line is opposite a tab at the other score line. The tabs 15 and 16 remain rigidly connected to the sections 6 and 8 respectively. Hence the act of bending the top member to dispose the sections as shown in Figure 1 automatically opens the apertures 13 and 14 because the tabs 15 and 16 remain parallel to the sections 6 and 8 as the section 7 becomes perpendicular thereto, and air can circulate into and out of the chamber 10.

The receptacle is therefore well adapted to serve its intended purposes. The contents are preserved to the best advantage and the package is simple in construction, and of light material throughout, but strong enough to avoid breaking or other impairment under all conditions of use.

Having described my invention, what I believe to be new is:

A receptacle having a bottom, sides and ends, and a top member having an upper section extending from one end along and between the upper edges of said sides towards the opposite end of said receptacle, said member also having an intermediate section connected to the top section along a transverse score line and perpendicular to the bottom and forming a transverse partition in said receptacle, and a lower section connected to the inter- Patented Mar. 12, 1957 3 mediate section along another score line and extending from said partition towards the first-named end of said receptacle and lying on said bottom, the upper and lower sections having tabs projecting therefrom at the upper and lower edges ,of said partition, said tabs having their ,inner ends in line with the second and third score lines and rigid with the upper and lower sections, so that when said upper, lower and intermediate sections are arranged in position, the tabs project outward beyond the intermediate section and parallel to said top and bottom sections and leave apertures in said intermediate section, said member being of constant width equal to the inside width of the bottom, said ends of the receptacle having flaps secured to said sides and having their upper edges below the top edges of the sides and their 4 lower edges above the bottom, said upper section extending along said upper edges of the flaps, and said lower section extending between said flaps and said bottom of said receptacle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,791,196 Deutschmeister Feb. 3, 1931 2,079,087 Schmidt May 4, 1937 2,325,755 Eggebrecht Aug. 3, 1943 2,465,169 OConnor Mar. 22, 1949 2,679,971 Goldberg June 1, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 816,089 France April 26, 1937 

